:D for Discrimination

All it takes to prove discrimination is an allegation. Our liberals are scouring every corner of the country to find alleged tales of discrimination. They found a case of discrimination at AIIMS. They even found communally insensitive behavior.

So far, tales of discrimination against the minority community in the private sector had eluded them. Well, they found one, in Guwahati!



A 39-year old female journalist wanted to switch careers to computers. She applied for the post of an academic counsellor in an IT company which was recruiting for its newly-opened Guwahati branch. According to her, she was subjected to gruelling interview sessions and was given every impression that she would be hired. Then comes the rude shock:

The issue, however, came up after I asked about when I would be receiving my appointment letter. In a clever move, they asked another Muslim lady who worked there and who dressed in jeans and kurta, to talk to me about removing my head covering. Meaning: my job was assured, subject to my removing my dupatta! I said there was absolutely no question of my doing so. I couldn’t compromise. And in any case, I failed to see any connection between my efficiency and skill levels and my wearing a headscarf. If it was their policy not to employ people wearing any sort of headgear, why did they select me in the first place?

Actually, it was not a clever move at all. A clever move would be not to call her in for an interview or reject her on technical grounds.

This episode led the person in question to conclude:

Discrimination against Muslims and other communities has always existed in India. Today it is more subtle and yet more pronounced. I’m not saying all non-Muslims are the same. There are Hindus who do not subscribe to the ideology of hate so typical of the Hindutva brigade. But the under-currents are strong. Who knows how many people are being denied jobs just because they happen to be Muslims?

Note that the direct conclusion is about denial of job. The fact is she wasn't denied a job, according to her own claim, she was "denied a job" for "not removing her dupatta". Not quite the same thing, is it?

Of course, if you were really objective, you would analyze data from the universe of white collar jobs. You would compare the proportion of applicants versus hired candidates at various education and skill levels. This sort of data does not exist in India.



Restricting ourselves to the basic issue of attire and workplace (she starts the article with the French ban on headscarves: AS A MUSLIM, I was outraged when I first read reports of the French government’s decision to ban the wearing of religious symbols, including headgear), it is easily seen that this can open up a pandora's box or should we say unveil an ugly territory no one would want to chart. Talking of France, did you know that wearing headscarves of any kind at public places is banned in Turkey?

Keep in mind that the job she applied for was that of a counsellor, i.e. a public facing job. There are thousands of men and women who wear various headgears and work in technical professions. Would a woman in headscarf be allowed to work as a receptionist in a Wipro office? Should men and women demand to wear religious attire in the following profession: swimsuit model, receptionist, air hostess, waitress?

Employers have a right to demand of their employees to wear certain type of dresses. Even Government employees are asked to wear uniforms, very unflattering ones at that. Is this a problem for conservatively dressed women? Don't think so. Even a basic image search reveals companies like Infosys allows very traditional dresses in the workplace and actually appears to be proud of that.





She connects this story with identity related issues, about how she is hounded with questions about her origin. This we can understand. This is the North East, where illegal immigration has been a huge issue. Unfortunately, she completely misplaces her blame. She should ask her local Rajya Sabha representative why is the Government not curbing the menace of infiltration which puts legitimate residents like her under a cloud of suspicion.

[Note: We wish Ms. Nazneen Hussain luck in her career switch].